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Fighting for stroke survivors in Cornwall area

John Milnes, president of the Eastern Ontario Stroke Survivor Support Group, speaking at an EOSSSG meeting on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Cornwall, Ont. He stepped down as president in 2017. Todd Hambleton/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia Network

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June is Stroke Awareness Month in Canada, and John Milnes didn’t waste any time doing his part.

Milnes, president of the Eastern Ontario Stroke Survivor Support Group, got his message out on the very first day of the month, holding a meeting themed “Understanding Stroke” on Wednesday night at the Riverdale Terrace Retirement Residence in Cornwall.

“It’s a sad reality the medical community and the public at large does not begin to comprehend the implications of a stroke,” Milnes told the gathering.
At 84, Milnes remains a feisty advocate for stroke survivors.

“We’re trying to get improved services,” said Milnes, who started the not-for-profit corporation five years ago. “(But) I continue to be deeply concerned at the almost total ignorance that surrounds this most damaging health issue; for neither the politicians nor the medical community seem to take the issue seriously.”
The EOSSSG has about 40 members, most of them stroke survivors, and some of the members are caregivers.

Milnes back in 2004, at age 72, suffered a major stroke and was told he would likely never walk or talk again — but he proved the experts wrong almost immediately.

What has taken a tremendous amount of time, and has had only limited success, is getting more public awareness about strokes, and more support from key people and groups.

“Since my stroke there have been no announcements of research into the causes of stroke,” Milnes said. “There is just the old mantra, from the medical community and the charities connected to strokes, that keeps being repeated, ‘to avoid a stroke eat lots of fruit and vegetables and exercise regularly’ . . . it’s like a broken record.”

Milnes, in advocating for stroke survivors, has even reached out to national leaders, hoping for a life-long national resource/rehabilitation program, a struggle that goes on for him and the EOSSSG.

His advocacy efforts continued locally on Wednesday. Milnes, in considerable scientific detail, talked about the differences between heart issues (mainly a heart attack) and a stroke.

“Any stroke event causes damage to the nervous system,” he said. “Sadly, the political, medical and charitable communities have yet to come to terms with the need to undertake specific research in this field, because stroke survivors tend not to make waves.”

Repeatedly reminding the gathering that he’s “not medically qualified” in the medical profession, Milnes used the comment to make a larger point.
“If someone like me can find possible explanations for a stroke, then it would not be unreasonable to expect our political, medical and charitable organizations to get their acts together and unite in finding greater understanding of stroke incidences,” he said.

The EOSSSG holds regular meetings, the first Wednesday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Riverdale Terrace (1200 Second Street West).
“The only link to recovery (from stroke) is our group,” Milnes said. “We’re dedicated to try to help everybody.

“We’re not going to stop trying to get the things we feel are important (for stroke survivors).”